Rick Genest (AKA ZOMBIE BOY) has had a real life rags to riches tail. After leaving high school at 17 he immersed himself in the underground punk rock scene in Montreal and was homeless and living in abandoned buildings. He got his first tattoo at 16 which was a a skull and crossbones on his left shoulder. By 19 he was committed to his full body tattoo project and stayed loyal to Montreal artist Frank Lewis, who designed the majority of his body over the next six years.
In early January 2011, he was spotted on a Facebook page by a one Nicola Formichetti, Lady Gaga’s personal stylist and the creative director of the legendary Paris based fashion house Theirry Mugler. Formichetti flew to Montreal to meet Genest to complete an extensive photo and video shoot for Thierry Mugler’s fall 2011 campaign. The two clicked instantly and Formichetti invited Genest to Paris to model in the Mugler men’s fashion show. It was the first time Rick had ever travelled outside Canada, and incidentally his first time on a plane. Acting as his mentor of sorts, Formichetti then cast Genest in his biggest role to date; a pronounced cameo in Lady Gaga’s video ‘Born This Way’ filmed in New York City.
His relationship with Formichetti has clearly been a boon for his career, and has since seen him pose for such magazines as GQ, Vanity Fair and Vogue Hommes Japan, as well as a collaboration with the juggernaut of the fashion photography world – the renowned —L’Enfant terrible Terry Richardson.
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